NY should probe Google, Meta and others for allowing illegal weed shops to thrive: business owners

Legal weed shop owners in New York are pushing for investigation into social media companies and tech giants they say are allowing promotion of their unlicensed competition.

It’s high time that Gov. Kathy Hochul step in — and even consider suing — Google, Meta and others for engaging in “false advertising” of unlicensed marijuana shops, some owners of legal dispensaries told The Post.

“It would be disengenious for them to say they don’t know what’s going on,” said Osbert Orduna, owner of the Cannabis Place delivery service. “They track every click that goes on their site.”

Jayson Tantalo, co-founder and vice president of operations at the New York Cannabis Retail Association, said he and Orduna are gathering signatures for a letter to formally ask Hochul intervene, in her role overseeing the state Office of Cannabis Management.

“If they are not licensed to sell cannabis, they should not have the right to advertise or market their services on Tik Tok, Yahoo and Google,” Tantalo said.

The draft letter accuses the companies of being “complicit” and said they may be be in violation of state law.

“These companies must be held accountable for their part in enabling illicit cannabis activity and failing to uphold the standards necessary to protect New York consumers and uphold the law,” the letter said.

There are currently 75 licensed cannabis outlets in all of New York state, while Mayor Eric Adams and Sheriff Anthony Miranda estimate there are as many as 2,000 smoke shops illegally selling weed in New York City alone.

Many illicit pot shops have operated with virtual impunity.

Few have been padlocked and of the $25 million in fines levied by state regulators against unlicensed stores, only a paltry $22,500 has been collected amid bureaucratic inertia and a lengthy appeals process — though Hochul has proposed new legislation that would make it easier to close illegal shops.

A simple search on Google or Google Maps on “cannabis dispensaries near me” will show many unlicensed pot shops peddling their products with listed reviews — with little to distinguish illegal stores from licensed businesses. The sites give specific addresses, phone numbers and some include links to websites.

Yelp also lists reviews for unlicensed stores while sites like Meta’s Instagram allow illegal shops to promote their products, licensed owners said.

In the letter, the licensed operators note they are tightly regulated by the state with all cannabis products tested to rigorous standards to protect public health and safety.

“The unchecked presence of unlicensed cannabis stores on popular social media platforms not only undermines the integrity of the regulated market but also poses serious risks to public health and safety …. potentially exposing consumers to untested and unsafe products, while depriving the state of much-needed tax revenue,” they said.

The industry representatives noted social media companies often point to Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996 that provides them immunity from being held liable for material posted by third parties on their platforms.

But they argued that the governor and Attorney General Letitia James could sue the social media giants under New York’s General Business Law, which prohibits “deceptive” conduct directed at consumers.

In addition, they say licensed cannabis operators should be allowed to bring their own lawsuit against social media to “recover actual damages” for harm committed against their business.

Hochul and OCM had no immediate comment.

A Google spokesperson acknowledged The Post query and said they would look into the matter.

The Post reached out Meta and Yelp.